Do Rockets Turn Back?
by PikoPonn
Summary: WARNING: OCs galore!  Kid is the youngest Rocket Executive. In fact, she's the youngest member to BECOME an Executive. However, she feels that she does not belong in Team Rocket, so, what will she do?
1. Chapter 1

**PiPo: Hay you guize! I'm alive! :D**

** So, I bought the new Pokemon Black and White games (Yes. I have both. White belongs to my mom.) and I felt like writing a Pokemon fanfic! Hooray! **

** You guys should know that I don't own Pokemon by now, other than the copy of the games and merchandise I have. Enjoy!**

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Chapter One

"Those _idiots_."

She sighed in frustration as she watched a bunch of Grunts running after a bunch of Pokemon, bags and cages at hand. Each were laughing hysterically as the Pokemon squealed and yipped in terror, desperately trying to outrun the Rockets.

She reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper labelled 'Idiots'. After quickly unfolding it, she read out loud: "_Your mission: Invade Viridian Forest and gather as many Pokemon as you can __**without making a scene**__._"

_Clearly, this mission is a failure. _She thought, removing her black trucker hat to run a hand through her short, blonde hair. She cleared her throat before speaking. "**HEY! IDIOTS!**"

If she found the fact that nearly all of the Grunts stopped in their tracks and looked at her amusing, she didn't say anything. Instead, she shook her head in digust. "You were _supposed_ to avoid making a scene! Can't you guys do _anything _right?"

When she got silence for an answer, she huffed and crossed her arms. "Who is the _main_ idiot here? Who's the leader of this operation?"

A relatively tall man stepped forward. His Team Rocket uniform was wrinkled and torn. The red bandana around his neck was tied loosely, and looked like it was about to fall off. He removed his hat, a sign of respect, revealing his bald head, and then looked at her right in the eye, his eyes full of… something else. It was not fear, that's for sure.

"Does the idiot have a name?" She growled as she stepped closer to the group of Grunts. "Or, will I have to continue referring him to him as 'the idiot'?"

This, of course, stunned the Grunts. Rocket Executives _barely_ asked for their names. Instead, they would just refer to each and every one of the Grunts as 'idiots'. They murmured amongst themselves.

The blonde girl growled at them, silencing them. _What is this? A preschool? _

"I'm _waiting_, idiot."

Finally, the idiot spoke. "Grill. They call me Grill."

"Well, _Mr. Grill_," She sneered, "I do hope you realize that this mission has already failed, as you were not supposed to cause a scene."

Grill growled at her, and then she quirked an eyebrow. He _dare_ show such disrespect to an Executive? "There isn't anyone around, _Miss_." He spat the word. "We aren't making a scene, if no one is here to witness the 'scene'."

"You've got guts, Mr. Grill." She glared at each of them now. "However, you forget how close the Viridian Forest is to Viridian City, and how close Viridian City is to Pallet Town." She narrowed her eyes. "And as for your _stupid_ assumption that no one was watching, I just saw a bunch of kids running towards Viridian City, screaming that Team Rocket was attacking the Pokemon."

All of the Grunts groaned. A sea of protests flooded her ears.

"Aw, but, Miss, we didn't know!"

"We tried to be careful, Miss!"

"Yeah! It's not our fault some kids saw us!"

"**SHUT UP!**" She yelled, making them silent once more. "Surely, you _must_ know who Viridian City will call for help, right, Mr. Grill?"

The bald man huffed. "Officer Jenny, of course! But, honestly, what the hell would she do t—"

"NO." The blonde girl spat, fighting the urge to smack the Grunt. "They'll call Professor Oak. And who will Professor Oak call?" She didn't wait for them to answer. "He'll call _whoever the hell he can_. And he knows a _shitload _of Pokemon trainers.

"Honestly. I fought hard against Giovanni for you guys to have this job because I felt bad that he continuously called you idiots. I was giving you a chance to redeem yourself, and yet you disappointed me.

"If you can't do this job properly, then how will you handle other, harder missions?"

And that was all it took for Grill to walk up to her and punch her square in the jaw. She fell backwards from the impact, and then stared up at the man, rubbing her sore jaw with her hand. She was shocked, and then she widened her eyes when a very unwelcomed taste filled her mouth.

… She tasted _blood_.

Grill laughed. "You talk tough, _Miss_," He said the word with such venom, the girl winced slightly, "but you're really just a kid. Even your codename is 'Kid'!"

The other Grunts just stood there, shocked. Anyone who dared standing up to a superior officer, let alone _punch_ one, did _not _come out of said officer's office uninjured, be it their body or their pride.

"Honestly, I don't know what the Boss is thinking, letting a kid like you become an Executive. I mean, you weren't even working for Team Rocket last year! He should have promoted one of _us_ to your position!"

The girl, 'Kid', slowly stood up. "… You mean you're jealous?" She glared at him. She may be short, but she never let someone who showed her such disrespect go without proper punishment. "Do you mean to say that _you_, who can't even do this mission right, deserve to have _my_ position?"

Kid pulled out a PokéBall from her belt strap, and then pressed the white button in the middle. The ball opened, a white light coming out from it, and then revealed a very angry Quilava.

The Grunts gasped as Grill laughed. "Heh. You think your _mouse_ can do anything to me? You're mistaken. You forget that, unless given permission by the Boss, you can't hurt me, since I'm a lower rank."

"Tipes isn't going to hurt _you_." Kid smirked. "He's going to hurt that tree." She pointed to a large tree standing proudly beside Grill.

Grill laughed again. She was honestly starting to hate his laugh. "What? You don't like the Viridian Forest? What will all of the environmental groups do once they find out that Team Rocket isn't eco-friendly?"

She chose to ignore him, so she turned her attention to her Quilava. "Tipes, use _Swift_."

Tipes yipped, and then opened his mouth, shooting a bunch of stars towards the tree. Grill just laughed as the stars hit the tree continuously, one after the other. "What is _that_ gonna do? Though, I have to admit, that _Swift_ attack would look really nice in a Pokémon Contest."

Kid ignored him again, and turned to face the other Grunts. "Go back to Headquarters with the Pokémon you've already bagged and wait for your punishment there. I'm sure Holly would just _love_ to give it to you."

And then the other Grunts nodded frantically before grabbing the caged and bagged Pokemon and high-tailed it out of there.

Grill just smirked. "What? You not good enough to give them proper punishment?"

"If you _must _know, Mr. Grill," Kid said before rolling up her right sleeve to glance at her wrist watch. "I've got my own mission to attend to." She glanced up at the tree, which was still being pelted by Tipes' attack. She smirked. "Tipes, that's enough."

The Pokémon stopped on its trainer's command. He looked up at her expectantly. Kid just smiled at him. "You know what to do."

If Grill did not know any better, he would think that the Quilava smirked at him. It still did not faze him, though.

"What's your Tipes gonna do, now, _brat?_"

There a was a very loud creaking sound before the tree fell right on top of him, blood spewing out of his mouth as he fell under the tree's weight. Kid giggled a little. Grill looked a little like a fire breathing Dragon Pokemon when that happened.

"Good job, Mari." Kid said, as a Marill walked out from the bushes near the fallen tree. "Your _Rollout_ has really improved."

The small blue Pokémon smiled happily before rushing over to Tipes and Kid. The fire Pokémon grinned, as if congratulating the other for a job well done.

Just then, Grill groaned.

Kid turned her attention back to the _very_ injured man. "Ah. Mr. Grill. You're still alive." It was more of a statement rather than a question. "I'm debating whether or not we should finish you right now."

"Y-you… wouldn't… _d-dare_…" It was quite obvious that the man was having great difficulty breathing, let alone speaking.

Kid looked down at the Grunt, still smirking. She glanced at her Pokémon, who were both looking up at her expectantly. She was about to open her mouth to let out a command, but then…

… Mari's ears just twitched.

The blonde watched as the Marill scrunched its face in concentration. After a few more seconds, Mari looked up at her trainer, her eyes panicked.

"_Marill._" It said, waving its tiny arms.

Nodding in understanding, Kid stared at Grill once more before spinning on her heels and started walking towards the exit of the Forest, her Pokémon mimicking her movements. "Well, Mr. Grill, it seems as though Officer Jenny is coming this way. You may consider yourself either one of two things: fired or lucky." She flipped him off as she called her Pokémon back into their respective PokéBalls. "Either way you think about it, it's true. Don't you even consider coming back to Headquarters. If you do, I promise you, you will _not_ be able to leave."

* * *

Once she was far enough from Viridian Forest, Kid reached into her pocket again, and brought out another piece of paper. This one was labelled 'Kid'.

She unfolded it, and then started reading out loud. "_Before you begin your mission, head over to the Viridian Forest, where the useless idiots should be attempting to complete a mission. I've included a copy of their mission objective in your file. You are to ensure that they are carrying out their mission as the instructions say. __**Word for word**__. If you encounter any problems, feel free to annihilate it._"

Kid smirked before crumpling the paper and stuffing it back into her pocket. "Problem annihilated."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A small vibration coming from her right pants pocket woke her up from her nap under a tree. Kid yawned as she picked took out her Team Rocket-styled PokéGear. She glared at it for a few seconds before pressing the 'Accept' button and holding it up to her ear. "Holly."

_"Are you __**trying**__ to piss me off?"_ The other girl hissed into the receiver.

Kid blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Holly huffed, and then let out a small string of profanities before continuing. _"Don't get me wrong, Kid, I don't mind when another Executive sends me a few idiots to punish… But __**thirty-seven**__ idiots?"_

The blonde ran a hand through her hair as she sat; listening to her colleague ranting about how much time it took her to give all of the Grunts an appropriate punishment for their idiocy. After a few minutes, when all that could be heard on Holly's side of the conversation was just angry panting, Kid sighed. "Are you finished?"

_"I am."_

Kid smirked. "First of all, Holly, you should be pleased that thirty-seven idiots had travelled from Viridian Forest to Celadon City in less than twenty minutes." She let out a yawn before continuing. "Secondly, I had no choice. I would have punished them myself, had I not been on a mission."

A small huff was heard. _"You could've fired 'em."_

"I know." She replied with a shrug, even though she knew that Holly probably would not be able to see her. "I've probably killed one of them… And I don't think Giovanni would be very pleased to know that I've fired and killed thirty-eight of his underlings."

Holly hummed in understanding. _"Ah… I see."_ Holly chuckled a bit. _"So, you've got a mission, huh? Wanna borrow Simm? I just taught him how to use __**Aerial Ace**__."_

_...Simm?_ "Who's _Simm_? Do you have a new addition to your party?"

Holly burst into laughter. _"Oh, yeah. That's right. You haven't seen Simm, yet."_ She continued to laugh for a few seconds before settling down, taking a few breaths to even out her breathing. _"Simm's my Gligar. I just caught him yesterday."_

"A Gligar…" Kid thought about it. Would she need a Gligar for her mission? A _newly caught Gligar?_ "I'd have to decline, Holly. Your Gligar probably wouldn't listen to me."

_"I suppose… Do you want some help on your mission __**at all**__? I can send over one of my other Pokémon… Or I could get over there."_

Kid sighed. She really did want Holly to come and do this mission _for_ her… She was going to feel very bad after the completion of her new mission. "… No. I'm good, thanks."

And with that, Kid hung up.

* * *

"Hey… Did you hear about Viridian Forest?"

"Yeah! Oh, I feel so bad for those poor Pokémon!"

"I hate Team Rocket. I can't believe they'd do such a thing!"

"It's a good thing we have Professor Oak and his students in Pallet Town… No one would _dare_ doing something so cruel here!"

"Who would even want to? Pallet's such a quiet place!"

The last little comments from the group of kids she walked by left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was true. Pallet Town was one of the most peaceful and quiet of the cities and towns of the Kanto Region. She knew that once she accomplishes her mission, nothing good would happen…

Citizens of Pallet Town would always live in fear, Team Rocket would get more of the negative publicity that they already had, and, if she is not careful, her face will be wanted across the Regions.

Kid stopped walking and sat on a small park bench; Mari jumped out of her arms and sat down beside her. She knew it was safe to do so. No one was going to suspect her of anything. After all, she had removed her Rocket uniform and put on a pair of jeans and a bright blue shirt. She had even let Mari out so that she can hold onto her while walking around. She blended in.

It appeared as though there was some sort of festival going on in Pallet today. There were a bunch of food and game stands up, and almost everybody was out of their houses, laughing and having fun.

Mari giggled, and then jumped onto her trainer's lap. The small blue Pokémon bounced, and then pointed to a small food stand a few metres in front of them.

"Hungry, huh?" Kid patted the Marill's head as she rummaged through her small bag for her wallet.

The other Rocket Executives often laughed at her for even carrying around such an empty wallet. To which she would argue that while the Executives were granted such a large sum of money to spend for themselves, the Grunts had almost nothing and often starved to death. Anyway, not everyone wants to carry around a wallet with well over thirty thousand PokéDollars to whatever and wherever.

Anyway, ten thousand PokéDollars was not too little… Was it?

Kid brushed that thought aside as she picked up her small blue companion. She then stood up from her comfortable place on the bench, and then walked over to the small food stand.

There was not really a variety of food to order from there. _Waffles, Poffins, sweet dumplings, and cookies._ The blonde looked at her Pokémon. "Well, Mari, choose whatever."

"_Marill! Marill!_" The Pokémon squealed happily as she jumped out of her trainer's arms again and glanced up at the menu.

The blonde watched as her Pokémon motioned to the guy behind the counter what it wanted to eat. She smiled as Mari came back to her, jumped onto her head, and waited for her to pay for its meal.

It was times like this Kid felt as though she should quit Team Rocket and just live a normal life... But, then again, where would she go? As far as she knew, she had no one to depend on other than her Pokémon.

... No. She should reword that. She did not _remember_ anyone she could depend on other than her Pokémon.

* * *

Night came almost too fast for her. She sighed as she pulled on her black Rocket trucker hat and tied a red bandana around her neck. She really _did not_ want to go through with this mission.

Unlike what many people think and say, not _all_ Rockets were stupid. She was hiding up in a tree that was not too far, yet not too close to Pallet Town. That way, no one would even consider that the blonde girl with the Marill from the festival was actually a member from one of the world's most notorious band of Pokémon thieves.

As she was fumbling around with her belt looking for the PokéBalls she needed, she wondered if she could still call Holly and ask her to take her place. She snorted, releasing the Pokémon from their respective PokéBalls. Giovanni would have her ass on a plaque on his wall if she chickened out.

Kid watched as the light that was released from the PokéBalls formed two shapes – one was Tipes, her trusted Quilava, and the other appeared to be a Zubat. The two Pokémon blinked at her, and then looked towards Pallet Town, waiting for their orders.

"I've already told you what we're here to get." She spoke, turning to glance at the direction where their target was. "Let me just debrief you again.

"Our target is in Professor Oak's lab. Well, actually, our _targets_ are in that lab. We're here to snag the three Starter Pokémon of the Kanto region: Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, for Giovanni's Pokémon army."

She sighed, taking out a Cyndaquil mask from her bag and putting it on. "I really don't wanna do this..." She glanced at her Pokémon, who were looking at her worriedly. She lifted the mask up to smile at them. "Don't worry too much. Once this mission is over, we can go back and do some of our regular missions, okay?"

The two Pokémon nodded before looking back towards the direction where Pallet Town was.

Kid sighed once more. "One more thing: I don't want to use violence like how we did this morning. If we're quiet enough, we can just sneak in, nab the PokéBalls, and then sneak out without anyone noticing us." She turned towards the Quilava. "Tipes, you're gonna cover me. If you notice anything, use your _Smokescreen_."

"_Quil_." Tipes nodded.

"Zane." She turned towards the Zubat. "You're gonna cover both of us, alright? If you notice anything weird, use your _Supersonic_."

Zane whimpered in understanding.

The blonde smiled, putting the Cyndaquil mask back on. After glancing at her Pokémon one last time, she jumped off of the tree branch, and then headed towards Professor Oak's lab, blending in with the shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

**PiPo: I'm updating ALOT today! Well, it's probably because I was thinking: 'They deserve more than just one chapter... I should upload like, three.' And, so I did. :D**

** Are you guys proud of me, yet? And I'm quite surprised at how short these chapters look. Like, on Word it looked WAY longer than that. :/**

** You know already, right? I don't own Pokemon other than the games and merchandise that I bought.

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Chapter Three

Kid did not know whether or not she should be delighted that breaking into a Pokémon lab was so easy. After all, Oak could have planned his security that way – letting the thief think that it would be easy to steal from him, but then, when the thief is about to make a get-away, one of Oak's aides would pop out of no where and beat the thief with their Pokémon.

She sighed as she quietly turned to face her Quilava and Zubat. "_Keep a lookout._" She whispered harshly to them as she headed farther into the lab. Both Pokémon nodded, and then cautiously began following their trainer.

The blonde made her way towards a dome-like contraption in the middle of the lab. She looked at it, and then tilted her head to the side. "_I'm guessing this is where the Pokémon are..._"

Looking over the many colourful buttons, Kid wondered which one she would have to press so that the dome would open. After a few minutes of searching, she face palmed when she saw a button that _clearly_ said 'Open'.

"_I can't believe I was so dumb."_ She whispered to herself as she pressed the button. Both Tipes and Zane watched in awe as the dome slowly opened, revealing three PokéBalls, each labelled with the name of the Pokémon that was held within.

_Squirtle._

_Bulbasaur._

_Charmander._

Kid quickly snatched all three of them, and then stuffed them into her bag. She was about to turn to high tail it out of there, when she saw that, in the middle of the platform where the three PokéBalls were, there was a circular lid with about the same circumference as a PokéBall. Her guess was that a 'back-up' Starter was there, just in case there was one trainer more than the usual three. She shrugged. She was here, anyway. She might as well steal that one, too.

She pressed the button that was beside the small lid, and then waited for the last PokéBall to emerge. She tapped her foot impatiently onto the white marble floor of the lab, but she tried to make as little noise as humanly possible. Kid huffed as she picked up the final PokéBall after it had emerged from its hiding place from within the dome-thing.

This one was different from the others. She spun on her heels, heading for the exit as she inspected it. Instead of the regular red and white design of a regular PokéBall, this one was _all_ white. A Premier Ball. She grinned to herself. If this Pokémon was held in a Premier Ball inside of a Pokémon lab, then this had to have some sort of value. She was glad she took this one.

"Mightyena! _Shadow Ball_!"

_... Aw, shit._

Kid turned around to grab her Pokémon into her arms before jumping out of the attack's way. She glanced over at where the _Shadow Ball_ had hit, and was instantly glad that neither she or Tipes or Zane were in the way.

Tipes yipped angrily as it faced the person who would _dare_ even attempt to harm his trainer, fire blazing from the red spots on his body. "_Quil!_"

The attacking Pokémon, Mightyena, snarled at them, bearing its teeth at the intruders. "_Grrr..._"

Just then, the voice that had commanded Mightyena to attack came back. "Who are you? What're you doing in here?"

Kid glanced up to face the source of the voice. From the eye slits of the mask, she made out the figure of a boy around her age. His arms were crossed, and his ocean blue eyes, though were half lidded due to the fact that it was an ungodly hour of the night, burned with an angry fury. His blonde hair was ruffled and matted, most likely because he was laying in bed a few minutes prior to this.

... Now that she thought about it... This boy looked _very _familiar...

Both the boy and his Pokémon snarled when they did not receive an answer. "You know what? You don't have to tell me who you are. I already know that you're from Team Rocket." He grimaced as he said 'Team Rocket'. It was as though those words tasted like bile. "Still, I want to know what you're doing here!"

"Wills!" A voice came from another room. "I just called Officer Jenny! She should be here soon!"

The blond boy, Wills, looked towards the direction from which the other voice came. He grinned. "Thanks, Tracey."

And it was at this moment that Kid thought it would be safe to run, seeing as the two boys were distracted. "Tipes, _Smokescreen_!"

The Quilava then opened its mouth and released a large cloud of black smoke towards Wills and his Mightyena. Kid grinned when she saw that neither one of them could move due to the fact that they were having coughing fits. She turned to her Pokémon, and then motioned towards the door. When both Tipes and Zane nodded in understanding, they bolted towards the lab's exit.

But, of course, that would have been too easy.

"Venonat! Use _Tackle_!"

And then, not even a second later, Kid had the wind knocked out of her by a relatively large, purple insect Pokémon. She gasped in pain as she landed onto the cold, hard floor, causing her bag. She panted as she held onto her side where the Venonat had tackled her.

"Good job, Venonat!" The other boy, Tracey, ran up to the big purple fuzz ball, grinning as the Pokémon squealed happily as it jumped into his arms. He then turned to face the Rocket on the ground, who was being shielded by both of her angry Pokémon. "You didn't think that we'd let you go so easily, did you?"

"_Quil!_" Tipes roared at the two boys and their Pokémon, his eyes wide with fury. It opened its mouth, ready to unleash a powerful _Flamethrower_ attack.

"Don't." Kid heaved, grabbing one of Tipes' hind legs, who immediately ceased his attack, and then turned to face his Trainer.

She could hear the siren of Officer Jenny's motorcycle. And it was getting _louder_. She huffed in frustration. They needed to get out of there. _Fast_.

Meanwhile, Wills had walked up to the intruder's bag, and then picked it up. He stuck his hand into it, and then dug around; looking for what the thief had attempted to steal. His eyes widened when he felt PokéBalls. Four of them. Grabbing the first three and then taking them out, he turned to glare at the Rocket before him. "_Really_? The _Starter _Pokémon? You even took the fourth one… Ugh! Sometimes, I can't even believe you guys…"

_Oh, no._ She had to think fast. This mission was about to be a failure! She quickly turned to Zane, who was hissing wildly at Wills' Mightyena. "Quick, Zane, _Shadow Ball_!"

A large, black ball formed at the Zubat's mouth. It turned sharply to face the blond boy, and then released its attack.

Kid watched as Wills' face contorted in pain as he made contact with her Zubat's attack. And, just as she had wanted, he let go of her bag. She was not stupid. She was watching. The boy, Wills, had only taken out the three _PokéBalls_. He did not remove the _Premier Ball_, yet. She glanced at her Pokémon, hoped that they got her unspoken message, and then made a mad dash for the exit.

She was sure that, had one of the Grunts seen her running towards the exit _without_ her bag, then she would be the laughing stock of Team Rocket. She smirked, however, when she heard Tracey's angry screech, as Tipes and Zane went straight for her bag, and then sped off to follow their Trainer.

The blonde growled as she saw the unmistakable red and blue flashing lights of police car lights. She was surrounded. _Damnit_, she thought to herself, _I'm gonna __**have**__ to fight them, now._

"Halt!" The blue-haired Officer Jenny yelled, her Growlithe barking angrily, "You are under arrest!"

… You know what? She might as well act like a total ass about this whole thing.

So, she smirked, even though she knew they would not be able to see her face due to the mask. "You think _that's_ gonna stop me?"

It was then that Tipes and Zane had caught up to her. They looked at her expectantly, waiting for her commands. Kid grabbed her bag from her Pokémon, and then nodded at them, signalling them to prepare for a battle.

Tipes roared, his back ablaze with angry fires, while Zane hissed angrily.

"Growlithe!" Officer Jenny yelled. "Use _Flamethrower_!"

"_Swift!_" Kid pointed forward, like how she saw many other Executives do when they were commanding their Pokémon to do something.

In all honesty, she had absolutely no idea as to _why_ they did that. Maybe it was just for dramatic purposes.

She smirked as she saw her Quilava's attack overpowering the Growlithe's. _That's what several years of being together will do to you._

All of the police officers gasped as Tipes' _Swift_ overpowered Growlithe's _Flamethrower_, effectively hitting the poor orange Pokémon in the face. Kid watched as Officer Jenny ran over to her Pokémon. If she was not wearing the mask, they would have seen the flash of regret in her eyes. She sighed, turning to Zane. If Growlithe was the only Pokémon present, then maybe she would attack it...

"Oh, no you don't! Mightyena! _Shadow Ball_!"

"Venonat! Use _Tackle_!"

... She forgot about _those_ two.

"Tch." She turned to glare at the two aides before glancing back at her Pokémon. "We need to get out of here." She muttered so that only her Pokémon can hear. Both of them nodded in agreement.

Wills saw this. "Give up whatever you're planning and give back that Pokémon!"

... He thought that she was planning something else. She sighed. She was being an ass about this anyway. She might as well be a jerk about it, too. "Psh. What makes you think I'm gonna listen to _you_?" She snorted for an added effect. "You've already taken back the other three... And this one was just a benchwarmer, anyway! Just give this one," she patted her bag, "to Team Rocket! After all, 'sharing is caring', am I right?"

To her, Wills had come off as such a strong person, seeing as he was not afraid to stand up to her and stuff. However, when Wills heard her speak, his eyes widened in horror. She tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, but then decided that this would work to her advantage.

"Zane, _Supersonic_! Tipes, _Smokescreen_!"

And then all that was seen was a black smoke that engulfed the Pokémon lab, while all that was heard were the cries of all of the people being affected by the _Supersonic_.

* * *

She was so tired. She sighed as she crawled after Tipes in the small tunnel he had made so that they could escape. Zane would not have been able to go through here, so she had called him back into his PokéBall.

Hearing the sigh from behind him, Tipes stopped digging and then turned to look at his Trainer, worry evident in his eyes. "_Quil..._"

Kid glanced at the Pokémon, and then smiled, forgetting for a moment that she was still wearing the Cyndaquil mask. "I'm fine, Tipes. I'm just tired." She patted his back. "And your _Dig_ has really improved, huh? I mean, you've been digging for a while already, but you're still not tired!"

To that, Tipes puffed his chest in pride. "_Quil!_"

She grinned at her Pokémon, and then opened her mouth to say something... But then she closed it when she heard voices coming from behind them.

"_Where'd they __**go**__?"_

_ "How should __**I **__know? I was blinded by the __**Smokescreen**__, too!"_

"Huh." She blinked. The voices were coming from Pallet Town. She silently prayed that none of them would find the soft earth where Tipes had tunnelled their way out of there. She motioned for the Pokémon to keep going. Apparently, they were not far enough from the small town.

The voices continued.

"_**Damnit!**__ What're we gonna do now?"_

_ "Hey, what's wrong with Wills?"_

_ "Wills, are you okay?"_

She glanced back again, waiting to hear whether or not this Wills guy was okay.

"_**WHERE DID SHE GO?**__" _Kid shuddered as Wills' voice echoed throughout the tunnel. Well, she was not expecting _that_. _"Where did she go?" _What was heard after that were the cries of the police officers and Tracey... It sounded as though they were holding him down.

She sighed as she continued after her Pokémon. People sometimes...

The voices were still there, but were getting softer. They were getting farther away from Pallet Town.

"_Wills! Calm down!_" That was Tracey's voice.

"_I __**can't**__!" _She heard Wills' shaky reply. "_I can't because –" _

And then the tunnel behind her caved in.

* * *

It took about an hour more for Tipes to finally dig to the outskirts of Celadon City. They both sighed as they finally resurfaced and could breathe in the fresh air. Well, as fresh as the air can be right next to a relatively large city.

Tipes had climbed out of the tunnel first so that he can help his Trainer climb out, too. He grinned as he saw the blonde attempt to squirm out of the hole in the ground. "_Quilava_." He yipped jokingly.

Kid looked up at her Pokémon, and then playfully glared. "I'm _not_ getting fat, Tipes." She hoisted her bag up so that she would have less trouble pulling herself up. "I'm just injured."

She meant that as a joke, but seeing her Pokémon's expression wilt with worry, she just grinned. "I'm joking. Now, help me up."

Her Pokémon did not look convinced that she was uninjured, but he put on a small smile, and then grabbed the back of her shirt with his paws, and pulled her out. She grinned at him and murmured a small 'thanks', before standing up.

The volcano Pokémon gasped when he saw his Trainer clutch her side. "_Quil!_"

Kid shrugged. "It just hurts a little. Nothing to be worried about."

Tipes would not have it. He growled. "_Quilava._"

The blonde sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll get Holly to look at it when we get to the Hideout, okay?"

The Pokémon nodded. As long as she gets her side checked, he does not care who checks it.

Kid smiled. "Ah." She gasped as she tried to wipe the sweat off her brow. "I still have the mask on!" She turned to her Quilava. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Tipes shrugged, and then did the Pokémon equivalent of a snicker.

"You thought it was funny?" Kid laughed. "Ugh. Now my face is gonna be all sweaty... C'mon. Let's go wash up at a lake."

Tipes yipped happily as he followed his Trainer. It was true that he hated water, but after being in a stuffy tunnel for about an hour and a half, he would really appreciate splashing some water on his face.

The lake was not very far from where they were. So close, in fact, that Kid almost fell into it because she was not paying any attention to where she was going. This, of course made Tipes laugh at her. Again. So, the blonde growled playfully, toed off her boots and socks, and then jumped into the relatively shallow lake to grab a handful of water and splash her Pokémon companion.

"_Quil!_" The Quilava yipped as the cold water almost hit one of the red spots on his back. "_Quilava!_"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Tipes." Kid laughed as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I didn't mean to."

Tipes shrugged, and then gave her a forgiving grin. He had travelled with this girl since he was a Cyndaquil – _way_ before they had even joined Team Rocket! He did not want her to be the criminal she is. He knew her better than that. He just wanted her to smile. The Pokémon sighed, and then pointed to his face, telling the blonde that she was still wearing the Cyndaquil mask. "_Quilava._"

"Gah!" Kid squealed. "Oh, that's right! Ahaha! I'm supposed to take the mask off!"

She removed her trucker hat first so that she would not have to struggle as much to remove the mask. She huffed when she felt her hair was matted and sticky from sweat. She would have to take a bath later.

Kid then grabbed the Cyndaquil mask's nose, and then pulled it upwards so that the strap would not be damaged. She threw both the hat and the mask towards Tipes, who caught it with a startled yip.

The blonde chuckled as she watched her Pokémon yell at her from the land. She turned slowly to face the surface of the lake. "Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm sorr—"

Her stomach did a backflip when she saw the face in the water staring back at her. What was _Wills_ doing here? He could not have followed them, could he? "Get away!" She squeaked as she ran towards Tipes, who was readying for a fight.

She scrambled onto the land, hid behind her Quilava, and then grabbed the other two PokéBalls to send her other Pokémon out into battle. "Tipes, _Flamethrower_!"

The Pokémon obediently followed her orders, opening his mouth and unleashing a powerful fire attack. Kid sent out Zane and Mari while the other Pokémon was attacking. "Zane, _Shadow Ball!_ Mari, _Bubble Beam!_"

She watched as all three of her Pokémon attacked Wills. He probably would not get out of that attack alive, but that was what he got for following them all the way to Celadon!

After a few more seconds, Kid called off the attack, confused as to why she was not hearing any cries of agony and pain. Once the Pokémon stopped and looked back up at her, she slowly stepped back in the water, which was too hot for her liking due to the trio's attack. Kid glanced around. She was _sure_ she saw Wills here a few seconds ago... Where did he go?

"Mari, come here." The blonde called out to the water mouse, wanting to be safe from anything that may come near her while she was washing some of the dirt and sweat off of her face. She grinned as Mari jumped into the water and swam up to her, a worried look in her eyes. "Don't worry, Mari. I'm fine. I just wanted you to stay here just in case Wills comes back."

The Marill tilted her head (body) to the side. "_Marill?_" She was sure that no other human other than her Trainer was here.

Kid frowned. "Didn't you see him? I mean, he was just here a few seconds ago..." And then she glanced down again to wash her face.

Just like the first time, she squealed out of fear when she saw Wills' face staring at her. However, this time, she stared back, realizing that Wills was imitating her facial expression. She waved her right hand, and watched as Wills waved his left. She waved her left hand, and Wills waved his right. Mari looked up at her Trainer, worried that exhaustion has finally gotten the best of her, causing her to see random hallucinations.

Kid gasped after a few seconds of playing 'Mankey-see-Mankey-do' with Wills. She _knew_ she had seen his face before, but she could not pinpoint where exactly, but now she knew...

... Since she barely ever looked into the mirror, she was not really accustomed to how her own face looked like.


	4. Chapter 4

**PiPo: You guys, I am SO sorry that I haven't been updating. But, hey, I've got school, and Physics... And History... And a bunch of other junk that is just so freaking time consuming that I didn't get the chance to do some research on Pokemon, let alone write. Yes. I do research on the games so that the story remains faithful to both the games and (sometimes) the anime. **

**You know right? You know that I don't own Pokemon other than the games and merchandise that I purchased? You do? Good.  
**

Chapter Four

"**ARE YOU KIDDING?**" Giovanni's voice echoed throughout the basement of the Rocket Game Corner, causing Kid to flinch. "Do you mean to tell me that you were _unsuccessful_ in completing this one mission?"

The blonde ducked her head, frightened. "I-I'm sorry, Boss! It's just… There were two of 'em, and then Officer Jenny and the other officers came…"

And that was when she was interrupted by Giovanni slapping her across the face. Hard. "Don't you _dare_ start making up these excuses, Kid! Excuses are just for _Grunts_!" He spat angrily at her.

"But I brought this one back!" Kid held up the Premier Ball with her free hand as the other one was being used to massage her sore cheek. "Boss, it's in a Premier Ball! It _must_ have some sort of value!"

Giovanni roared. "It's a _benchwarmer_, Kid. It's the Pokémon that will be given to a fourth kid, should there even be a fourth kid. What do you not understand about that?"

Kid flinched again. "D-do you still want it?"

He turned to face his Persian, whose eyes gleamed evilly at her in the dimly lit room. "I would rather feed it to my Nidoqueen!"

"Then, is it alright if I keep it?" The blonde asked meekly. She went through so much hell getting this one Premier Ball, and if the Pokémon inside would just be fed to a freaking _Nidoqueen_ if she gave it to her Boss, then she might as well raise it.

Giovanni sighed, and then returned to his desk. He pulled out a file from the desk drawer, and then opened it before glancing back at his minion. "Fine! But, Kid, next time you mess up, I promise you, your Pokémon will be confiscated and given to a much more _able_ Executive while you will be demoted to a Grunt. Am I understood?"

Kid unconsciously placed her hand over her belt where her PokéBalls were placed as she nodded, gripping the Premier Ball. _… I swear, you better be worth it._

Giovanni took out a pen. "Present to me the Pokémon you're adding to your party."

The blonde gulped as she pressed the small button in the center of the ball. They both watched as a bright light came out of the small capsule and illuminated the room. After a few seconds, the light rested on the ground in front of Kid, and then formed a small canine-like physique, slowly revealing the Pokémon inside.

Big brown eyes blinked, and then looked up at the strange people in the room with it. The Pokémon's ears twitched as it yawned. It stretched for a few seconds more, glanced back at the humans in the room, and then yipped happily at them. "_Eevee!_"

Kid almost could not hold in the sigh of relief she felt when she saw the brown, fuzzy creature she saw before her. _Almost_. She knew the value of an Eevee and how rare it is to find one in the wild. She looked up at Giovanni, whose expression almost mirrored her own when she first saw the small Eevee come out of the Premier Ball.

The Eevee yipped at the humans to get them to say something out loud. Since he came out, all they did was stare at him, and, truthfully, he was becoming self-conscious.

Giovanni was the first to speak. "Kid. I hope you realize just what exactly came out of that ball."

Kid just nodded.

He spoke again. "If you properly raise that Eevee, it can be quite useful in my Pokémon army!" He extended his arms to the side, as if making a point as to how huge his army will be.

Again, Kid just nodded.

Giovanni grinned. "Good answer, Kid." He glanced at the clock. "Ah. It appears as though I've kept you from your duties at the Game Corner. Go. I'm finished with you for now."

* * *

There were times wherein Kid just could not believe her luck, be it good or bad. This Eevee, though, probably takes the cake for her really random moments. She grinned as she let out her other Pokémon so that they could meet the newest edition to their team while she changed out of her Rocket uniform and into her Game Corner uniform.

"Everyone!" She clapped her hands to get their attention. "This," she motioned to the Eevee, "is Veo. He was in that Premier Ball from Pallet Town."

Kid smiled as she heard all four Pokémon yipping and squeaking their friendly greetings while she was in the closet of the backroom changing her outfit. She sighed as she adjusted the green apron overtop of her white golf shirt and jeans, grabbed her Pikachu hat, and then got out of the closet. She grinned at her Pokémon. "Are we all friends now?"

The Pokémon all nodded ecstatically.

The blonde laughed. "Well, I have to work. You guys can walk around Celadon if you like. Just make sure you come back before closing time. The back door will always be opened."

And the Pokémon grabbed Veo while they charged for the back door.

* * *

"Sir, I ask that you don't smack your face against the slot machine, thanks."

"Ma'am, please don't slam you fist against the screen."

"Please stop."

The blonde sighed as she slumped over a broken slot machine. She hated this Game Corner. She hated Game Duty. She hated the fact that she had to insist that the machines are not rigged, even if some of them are. She hated that one guy that kept spilling his drink on to the floor and always complained about how they never clean the floors. She hated that lady who would always come in with one coupon for one thousand coins and ask that each of her kids get paid one thousand coins each. Before she could think of something else about this stupid Game Corner that she hated, her train of thoughts were interrupted by the other two girls who were put on Game Duty, as they were currently arguing with some guy about his prize.

She sighed once more before approaching the Prize Table. "Excuse me, Sir, what seems to be the problem?"

The relatively large man pushed up his glasses. "Your co-workers are not giving me my prize." He said matter-of-fact-ly.

The blonde glanced at the other workers: Holly and Karissa – before silently telling them that she will take care of this guy and someone needs to clean the huge puddle of Dr. Oran Berry on the floor.

"Alright." Kid said, taking a quick glance at the prize list before turning her attention back to the PokéManiac. "What prize did you want, Sir?"

Yes. The man was a maniac. He was wearing a shirt with a Clefairy dancing inside a heart with 'POKÉMON FAN CLUB' written below. If that did not give him away, the fact that he painted red circles on his cheeks similar to a Pikachu's should give away his insanity.

The man pushed his glasses up again. "I want a Clefairy."

"Of course you do."

His nostrils flared as he snorted. "And what exactly is _that_ supposed to mean?"

She put on a fake smile. "It means that Clefairy is one of our most popular prizes at the moment."

_… I live for bullshitting._

"Well, of course Clefairy is your most popular prize! Look at its perfect shape! It has amazingly soft fur! Don't get me started about its eyes…"

Kid inwardly smashed her face against the desk. She had clearly said the wrong thing. "Yes, yes, Sir, Clefairy _is_ wonderful. So, sir, I'm gonna have to ask you for your five hundred coins in exchange."

"Ah, yes, yes. Of course." The maniac reached into his pocket and took out a gold nugget. He then placed it on the desk, and looked at her expectantly. "Well? Where's my Clefairy?"

_This_ had to be the reason as to why neither Holly or Karissa were giving this man his damn Clefairy. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I can't accept that."

The maniac threw a fit. "**BUT WHY? YOU AND YOUR CO-WORKERS ARE ALL THE SAME. YOU CAN'T APPRECIATE SHI-**"

"But I _can_ tell you what to do so that we won't ever have this problem again, Sir." The blonde said, still fake smiling. "You can bring that nugget to the PokéMart, sell it to them, bring back the money here, buy five hundred coins at the Coin Counter, and then come back to the Prize Corner so that we can exchange it for a wonderful, adorable Clefairy."

The maniac huffed before nodding in understanding. He then grabbed the nugget and walked out of the Game Corner and headed towards the PokéMart.

… Did Kid mention how much she hated the Rocket Game Corner?

* * *

"Closing time!" Karissa yelled happily as she pointed at the Meowth-shaped clock.

Holly wiped the sweat off her brow and tossed the mop into the janitor's closet (because soda man kept coming back into the Game Corner and spilling his drink at the **same exact place**). "Finally."

Kid huffed as she pulled the plug for all of the machines and took out a rag from the janitor's closet. "I'm just gonna wipe the counters one last time. Karissa, can you check to see if my Pokémon're back yet?"

Said girl did a small salute before spinning on her heels and headed towards the back room. "I'm on it."

Kid grinned, and then turned her attention to the desk that currently was in desperate need for a wipe down.

Holly walked over, grabbed a stool, and then sat on it, leaning onto the desk. "So…?"

The blonde looked up for a moment. "So…?"

The other girl grinned. "How was your mission?"

"I failed." The shorter girl replied simply.

Holly almost fell off the stool at this. "Y-you failed?" She sputtered, her eyes wide. "How the _hell_ did you fail?"

"I only brought one PokéBall back… And it wasn't even one of the ones that Giovanni wanted." Kid shrugged as she continued to wipe the glass of the prize case.

The auburn-haired girl gaped. "So, are you fired or something? Were you demoted?"

"Why would Kid be demoted? I wanna know, too!" Karissa came back in, followed by Kid's Pokémon.

Kid growled as she pulled out her PokéBalls and called back al of her Pokémon except for Veo. "I _wasn't_ demoted, thank you very much. Giovanni didn't want the Premier Ball, so I asked if I could keep it. And, so, now I have an Eevee." She motioned towards Veo, who yipped happily and then jumped onto the desk, and on to its Trainer's shoulders.

Before anyone could say anything else, the machine that notifies them when a customer walked in went off, beeping a few times before falling silent. Karissa looked towards the door, where a red headed girl whose hair was tied up on a sideways pony tail stood. "Hi, I'm sorry, but we're closed."

The girl sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry, but the phone at the Pokémon Centre is messed up, and Nurse Joy said that the only other public one is here… Is it alright if I use it? I was supposed to call one of my friends, and he's expecting a call from me…" And she continued rambling for about two minutes before Holly gave up and allowed her to use the phone, which was directly to the right of the Prize Corner.

"Oh, thank you so much!" The girl smiled happily as she raced towards the phone, picked up the receiver, and then dialled the number.

"You guys, I'm gonna upstairs. I'm really sleepy." Holly said as she stood from the stool.

Karissa yawned. "Me, too." She looked at the third girl who was still cleaning. "Are you coming?"

Kid shook her head. "Naw. I'll wait here for her to finish, then I'll lock up, and then I'll go upstairs. I'll see you tomorrow."

The taller girls shrugged, bid the blonde a good night, and then headed upstairs, where the dormitory for the Rockets stationed there were to stay.

Veo squeaked as he jumped down from his Trainer's shoulders and glanced at the red head using the phone. The blonde patted his head. "Don't worry, Veo, we'll go to sleep soon."

The red head turned around, her eyes apologetic. "I'm sorry. I promise I won't be long."

Kid shook her head. "No, no! Take your time! I need to finish cleaning for tomorrow, anyway!"

"No, I'm really sorry, I – Hello?"

And her attention turned towards the face on the screen. Kid huffed, moving to the Coin Counter and started wiping.

"_Misty? Why're you in Celadon?_"

The girl, Misty, laughed. "Well, when you told me about that burglary at Pallet, I decided to investigate a bit and notify the other gym leaders about it. I told Erika just now!"

…_Oh, shit._

This girl was the Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty? Are you kidding? Kid felt both her breath and heartbeat slightly quicken. This is not good. Not good at all.

"_That's a great idea! I'll let Wills know that you guys are gonna be helping out, too! That should brighten his spirits!_" The voice coming from the phone chuckled lightly. "_Ever since the lab got robbed, he's been down in the dumps! I mean, he's not even eating! Professor Oak is starting to get worried._"

Misty huffed. "You tell Wills that I will _kill_ him if he doesn't eat! I mean it, Tracey!"

This is when Kid's blood ran cold. _... Tracey? __**Wills?**_

Tracey laughed on the other end. "_Will do!_" Tracey stopped laughing for a bit. "_Oh, Misty. We told Ash and Gary, too._"

If Kid's blood could get any colder, she would have turned into an icicle by now. Both Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum knew and were on the look out for her now… This just could not end well.

"Ah! That's great!" Misty's voice was light and cheery at the mention of Ash's name. "So, we've got people looking out from other regions, too!"

_DAMN IT._

"_Ahaha! Yep. Ah, Misty. I have to go. Gotta check on the Pokémon, since Wills is kinda out of it."_

"Alright. You tell Wills to eat and that we'll make Team Rocket pay for sure!" Misty said gleefully before hanging up.


	5. Chapter 5

**PiPo: OH MY GOD YOU GUYS I'M ALIVE. **

**So sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've just been incredibly busy with life. And school. Because I have decided that school is no longer a part of my 'official' life.**

**By the way, I know that I tend to switch between tenses... I do that unconsciously, and I apologize ahead for that.**

* * *

Chapter Five

The blond watched from his comfortable place on the sofa as his friend and fellow assistant ran towards the video phone on the Professor's desk. He quietly sighed as he patted his Mightyena's head. "Who is it, Tracey?"

The brunet grinned at him. "Not too sure. It's from the Celadon Game Corner, though."

"What does the Game Corner want? Does the Professor owe them money again or some shit?" He snorted.

"Wills." His friend warned him with a mock glare before picking up the receiver and answering the phone. "Hello?"

The familiar sound of the Cerulean Gym Leader's voice echoed throughout the room. _"Hello?"_

Wills sighed, and then walked out of the room, his Mightyena following him. Tracey and Misty were probably going to start talking about the encounter with Team Rocket and how they plan on getting that Eevee back in time for the new trainers. He smiled a bit when he thought of Filo, Paul, and Cherry, the new trainers that will be picking out their first Pokémon tomorrow. He then thought of how great everything would be, should they rescue Eevee and bring it back so that they would be prepared for a fourth trainer.

… Oh, who was he kidding? Knowing Eevee's abductor, there'd be no chance of bringing it back at all.

Mightyena nuzzled its Trainer's hand, whining quietly at how sad its Trainer was.

"Don't worry, Mightyena," the blond smiled sadly at his Pokémon, "I'm fine. I'll be fine tomorrow, too."

The large canine still did not look convinced.

"I'm fine, really." He grinned, and then patted his companion on the head, earning him a relatively cheerful yip from his Pokémon. He opened the door leading to the lab's back field, where they, Professor Oak and his aides, took care of all of the Pokémon that trainers from Pallet Town would send them via PC, and then motioned for the canine-like creature to get out. "It's getting late, pal. I'm gonna head up to my room, so, why don't you go get some rest now, too? We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

The dark Pokémon glanced one last time at its Trainer, and then slowly made its way towards the fields. His Trainer was not the only one who recognized the intruder's voice. A distant memory of a time when Wills was still a young boy (and it was still a Poochyena) floated through its mind. Wills was laughing and teasing another human who looked almost exactly like him. They were playing in the forest, along with another Pokémon... It was small, and blue... The other human always carried it around... It was an Azurill if Mightyena remembered correctly...

The memory was cut short when Mightyena walked right into the side of Ash Ketchum's sleeping Snorlax, causing the canine to run a safe distance away from the other Pokémon, lest the sleeping giant decide to roll over and completely crush him.

* * *

A barely audible knock sounded from his bedroom door before Tracey walked in with a tray of what was supposedly his dinner. "Wills, Misty told me that if you don't eat, she'll kill you."

Said blond looked up from his laptop for a second before going back to his research. He huffed. "Well, then, let her come. If I die, you guys can explain to the Professor why I wasn't able to finish my report on the Pokémon from the Unova region."

Tracey sighed, and then made his way towards his friend. He placed the tray down on a bare spot on Wills' desk, gathered up all of his courage, as he knew that the blond had quite a temper, and then slammed the laptop (as gently as he could so as not to damage it) closed. The other boy sputtered.

"**Tracey, you asshole!**" Wills all but yelled, "I didn't save it! Now, I have to rewrite that entire last page –"

"Wills! You haven't been eating properly since that _stupid_ Team Rocket incident!" The other boy yelled back, leaving the blond shocked at his outburst. "I get that Eevee being stolen is pissing you off, but think of how everyone else is feeling!" He glared at the other boy, who was staring at him with a shocked expression. "But, look on the bright side, will you? We've got so many people helping us look for them, now! There's Ash, Gary, the gym leaders..."

"I don't care!" Wills screeched, his voice somewhat hysterical. "Yes, I'm ticked off about the whole Eevee thing, but –"

"What is going on here?" A newly awoken Professor Oak stood at the door frame, arms crossed, and his hair ruffled. "What is with all this yelling at," he glanced at Wills' Murkrow clock that hung on his wall, "three o' clock in the morning?"

The Pokémon expert glared at his two teenaged assistants. Before he was disturbed, he was having a most splendid dream that included being able to _finally _complete his International PokéDex (without the declaration that there was another region in which there are a crap ton of new Pokémon), and he would _very much_ appreciate knowing why, exactly, Wills and Tracey started yelling at each other at an ungodly hour of the night.

Or morning. The current situation could pass for both.

Wills and Tracey stared at their boss/mentor, both very surprised, as they have not seen the Professor look so upset about a matter that did not concern Pokémon or research (or when his pizza is not delivered on time, but nobody has to know that). The Professor tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for a reasonable answer from his younger aides. "Well?"

Tracey sighed, and was the first to speak. "We're sorry, Professor... I was just telling _Wills_," he glared at his blond friend, "that he _needs to eat_ in order for him to help catch Team Rocket so that we could get Eevee back!"

Wills just shifted uncomfortably under the gazes of the other two in the room.

Professor Oak blinked. _Oh. That's what this is about._

The older man just sighed, and then leaned against the door frame, understanding completely why Wills was behaving that way. "Tracey, just leave Wills alone for now. He'll come down to eat whenever he wants to."

The brunet stared incredulously at his boss/mentor. "But, Professor –"

"Wills isn't stupid enough to deny food to the point that he becomes really sick," the Professor glanced at Wills, "am I right?"

Truthfully, Wills could not care less about his health at the moment, but if eating food meant that both Tracey and Oak will get out of his room to let him finish his research paper, then so be it. He nodded, reopening the document containing his research. "Yeah, yeah. I'll eat soon. Just let me finish my paper."

The Professor gave them a satisfied smile before turning around to head back to his room. "Good. Now, I don't want to hear anymore yelling at three o' clock in the morning."

The two aides could have sworn that they heard their boss mumble something about 'teenagers being full of angst', but they did not say anything.

* * *

A couple of hours later, all of the Professor's aides, including Wills and Tracey, were gathered in the main lab, waiting for the new Trainers' arrival. While Tracey was assisting the others in making final adjustments to the PokéDex that the new Trainers were about to receive, Wills was giving the starters their breakfast. He smiled as he watched the Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur devour the Pokémon food that he had made for them earlier that morning.

Because, in all honesty, he tried very, _very_ hard not to burn any of the kitchen appliances down like he did a few days ago when he was making his own meal. So, he was very proud of himself that the Pokémon were enjoying their food as much as they were.

"You know what, you guys?" He asked as the Pokémon were finishing the rest of their food, "One day, you're gonna come back to this lab, and you're gonna be really strong, and you'll have a bunch of stories to tell us!"

The Pokémon all yipped happily at him, excited to tell their old friends about the new adventures that they had with their new Trainers. Wills' smile faltered for a second, before he reached out to gently pat their heads. "I know you guys are worried about Eevee, and you want to get her back." The three nodded. "I'm sorry, but don't try to do anything just yet. You should never underestimate _Team Rocket_," he spat the words, "you never know what they're gonna do, y'know? So be careful."

"Hey, Wills, if you're done with your farewell speech, then bring 'em over here. The newbies're almost here!" Wills glanced back at the 'new guy' at the lab, Lexan, who was grinning at him, holding his Riolu in his arms.

He grinned back. "Yeah, yeah. I just wanted to let 'em know that they shouldn't try anything against Team Rocket, yet, y'know?" He stood up, motioning for the three Pokémon to follow him as he walked up to Lexan. "I mean, it'd suck hard if they lost a battle against 'em."

Lexan sighed, leading them into the main lab, where everyone else was waiting. "I know exactly what you mean, bro." He petted Riolu, who squirmed a bit at the unexpected contact, "I'd hate to lose Riolu or Grovyle t' those guys."

The blond nodded in agreement as he stopped in front of a small platform, bent down to pick up the three Starters, and then gently placed them onto it. He stretched as he turned to face his colleagues. "So, are they here, yet, or what?"

Professor Oak smiled. "I'm sure they'll be here any second, Wills." He patted Tracey on the shoulder, "Tracey," he said, "why don't you check to see if they're here now?"

Said teen grinned at him, and saluted before walking over to the front door. "You got it, boss!"

"Welcome to the world of Pokémon!" Professor Oak greeted the three young trainers as they entered the lab, Tracey following closely behind them. He smiled as he motioned to himself. "I am Professor Oak! And –"

The tallest of the trio, Paul, laughed. "Really, Professor, we grew up in Pallet Town. You've known us since forever. Is it really necessary to introduce yourself and what, exactly, you do for a living?"

The Professor shrugged as he stepped towards them. "It's protocol. Anyway," he grinned at the three new trainers, "are you guys excited for your first Pokémon? You'll soon be going on adventures to different regions, battling new rivals, gaining new friends..."

All three of them nodded ecstatically, trying their hardest not to let out random squeaks of happiness. Wills watched this scene looking very amused. Whenever new Trainers were coming in to receive their very first Pokémon, it always made Wills remember when he first got his Poochyena (now Mightyena) from his father. He was exactly like them before, and then he would turn around, a pair of eyes identical to his own watched him as he held out his new friend. He watched as a pair of lips curved into a small smile, and let out a quiet voice...

_... Congratulations, Brother._

People say that it's bad to dwell in the past, but, really, these memories are all he has left of her. He would always want some time to himself and let himself remember how happy he was before, but, of course, being one of Professor Oak's, the authority on Pokémon, aides, he was always abruptly interrupted.

"WILLS!" _Smack_. A hand that was not his made contact with his forehead, causing him to step back.

... Yes. He was _always _interrupted like _that_.

He growled slightly at the owner of the hand that just smacked him. "What?"

Lexan just grinned at his angry friend. Though he only worked in the lab for a couple of months, he grew used to Wills' expression randomly switching from one of complete bliss to one of extreme annoyance in a blink of an eye. "Can you do the honours of showing the Trainers the Pokémon?"

The blond blinked at his taller friend. "... Oh, yeah. Sure." He shifted so that he was facing the trio, grinning. "Follow me, guys."

He started walking to the _main_ lab, where he left the Starters on the platform. Wills glanced back at the three newbies behind him. "So, you guys know which one you want, yet?"

New Trainers were always put in some sort of Pokémon school when they were younger, and it just so happens that these three learned everything they knew about Pokémon from Professor Oak himself. So, everyone in the lab, save for Lexan (since he did not live in Pallet Town until a couple of months back), already knew exactly what kind of kids these three were, and all were satisfied that these Starters will be entrusted to them.

Once they reached the lab with the Pokémon, Wills walked behind the platform with the three Starters and smiled at the newbies. Paul, the tallest of the three, was the most mature, and so he allowed the other two, Filo and Cherry, to run up to the platform and observe each Pokémon. Cherry, the only girl of the group, fawned over how cute each of them was. Filo, the second tallest, then scolded Cherry, as "it's not just about their appearances, you know", to which the girl just slapped him across the face and hissed an "I know! Gosh!".

"Alright, guys," Wills said once he had enough of their squabbling, "we'll give you some time to talk it over, and then you gotta tell us which one you like, alright?" He watched as they all nodded, and then grinned. "Good. So, talk it over, and we'll be waiting for your answer!"

At this point, Professor Oak and a couple of the other aides walked in. Wills was about to ask where everybody went, but decided against it, and just assumed that the others were just returning to their daily tasks of caring for the Pokémon in the fields, and conducting their research, etc.

"Well, well!" Oak nodded his head at the new Trainers, "Have you all decided yet?"

The lab was filled with silence as the trio glanced at each other one last time, grinning, and then nodded at the lab folk. Filo spoke up for them. "Yeah, we've decided, Professor!"

Wills raised an eyebrow. "Really? It's only been a few minutes. Are you sure that you've decided? We can give you more time, if you want. There's really no hurry."

"We're sure!" Cherry clapped her hands, excited. "We discussed this over the phone last night, too, so we're sure!"

The lab folk looked at each other before looking back to the newbies, each of them with a small smile gracing their expressions. "Alright," Lexan said, crossing his arms, "go ahead. Choose your very first Pokémon, you guys."

Each of them took a tentative step forwards. Wills patted the each of the Pokémon's heads for the last time as he watched the Trainers step towards the Starter of their choice. He smiled as the Pokémon's feet shuffled excitedly as their new Trainers approached them. Filo was the first to outstretch his arms. Everyone watched as he slowly picked up the Squirtle, and grinned widely at him. Cherry soon followed suit, as she reached out, and brought the Charmander up and hugged him. Paul did not have to do anything, as the Bulbasaur squealed happily, and then leapt into his arms.

Everyone applauded. Tracey walked up to them, and clapped them each on the back. "Congratulations, you guys! We've got your PokéDex and PokéBalls out in the other room, so c'mon! Follow me!"

* * *

"Wills," the Professor whispered harshly once the three new Trainers walked out of the lab with their new Pokémon, "I've spoken with everybody about this, and we all feel it would be safer for them," he motioned to the trio walking away, laughing, "to be accompanied by a more experienced Trainer."

The blond just huffed and crossed his arms. "Wouldn't that take away the entire purpose of their journey? I mean, if someone were to escort them, then –"

Oak chuckled. "No, no. You don't seem to get it. We just need a couple of experienced Trainers to... Follow them for a bit, until they feel as thought they won't get into any trouble."

Wills glanced at his boss. "Isn't that called 'stalking'? I'm pretty sure that's a crime, Professor."

"It's for their safety," the Professor told him sternly, "I've already told them to try to keep out of Team Rocket's way, but I'm not sure if they'll keep that promise. You know how those three are."

Yes. He knew _exactly_ how those three are. He inwardly groaned as he remembered the _huge_, easily avoidable mess that they caused in the lab _just_ a few weeks ago when Tracey had _fully told them_ to not touch anything, and yet they did, and all of these random Mankey and Aipom appeared – _where the hell did they come from again? –_, and _oh __**Arceus**_, the shattered glass and all of the wasted Pokémon food...

... It was needless to say that Wills was convinced. He sighed as his shoulders slumped. "Alright, then, who's gonna be the stalkers? I'm pretty sure Ritchie's not doing anything..." He paused, "Where the hell _is_ Ritchie, anyway? I remember he came in here to ask about his Eevee –"

The older man shook his head. "No, it's not going to be Ritchie. I've spoken with Tracey about this, and we've decided that both yourself and Lexan will be... '_stalking_' them, as you say."

The blue eyed teen gaped at his boss. "You're kidding."

Oak shook his head. "I'm not."

"Why am _**I**_ going? I still have a bunch of stuff to do, and a crap ton of research papers to finish and send to Professor Ivy and Professor Elm..."

"I thought you'd be happy that you'd be going, honestly," the Professor shrugged, "after all, if you watch over them, then you have a greater chance of going after Team Rocket, like Ash and Gary and the others. You're Pokémon could also use a bit more exercise, too, actually. Out of all of the Pokémon that're out in the fields behind the lab, yours are the only ones that haven't been outside of Pallet Town since... _Forever_."

Wills huffed and crossed his arms. "I'm not going, Professor. You can send Lexan and Tracey, or someone, but I, for sure, _am not_ going." He growled. "And what makes you think that I wanna go after Team Rocket so badly, anyway? I'd really appreciate it if you stop assuming things about me, 'cuz really, I don't wanna freaking go."

Even after his whole speech about assuming things that are not true, Wills found himself later soaring in the sky on his Pelipper, Lexan on his Altaria closely behind. He groaned and prayed that they do not run into Team Rocket on this journey... He may not be able to control himself. He glanced back at his taller companion. "Lexan, d'you see 'em, yet?"

"Naw," Lexan shook his head, "but, Wills, shouldn't we have borrowed like, a Fearow or a Pidgeot, or somethin'? I mean, an Altaria and a Pelipper in _this_ area?"

The blond shrugged. "As long as we're a safe distance away that they won't see us, I guess. Anyway, it's not like we're gonna miss a lot on the road to Viridian City, so why don't we just head over there and chill for a bit?"

His companion nodded, and then both teens sped off on their bird Pokémon to the first city.


End file.
